Privacy Policy

Overview

Wamū (the app) is a privacy-first budgeting journal built by patterueldev. This policy explains what data the app handles, how it is stored, and your rights regarding your data.

This document is reconciled with the app's bundled disclosures (MVP disclosure v3, September 14, 2026) and current data practices.

Local-first storage

Wamū is offline-first. Entries and related budgeting data are stored locally in SwiftData on your device, and the app works offline. The app does not automatically send your financial data to an external AI service.

• No Wamū account is required — there is no Wamū-operated backend.
• No advertising identifiers or third-party analytics SDKs ship in the app.
• If a paid plan is offered in a future release, purchase handling uses Apple's StoreKit 2 on-device; see the Terms of Use for subscription details.

Optional private iCloud sync

Sync is off by default and opt-in per device. When you enable it, your budgeting data is mirrored across your own Apple devices through your private iCloud account — not a Wamū-operated account — using Apple's CloudKit private database. The sync experience includes iCloud-account availability, sync status, conflict handling, and device-isolation controls. Disabling sync preserves your local data rather than deleting or overwriting it.

Apple provides the cloud infrastructure, and synced content remains subject to Apple's iCloud terms. Wamū does not promise that synced content is inaccessible to Apple or immune from lawful access, preservation, removal, or disclosure.

Location and Apple network services

Wamū can attach your current location to a post when you're making it, so you can see where an entry happened. Capture is one-shot and when-in-use only: there is no continuous tracking, no background location use, and posting always works with permission denied. You can remove or change the location before or after saving.

Turning coordinates into a place name (reverse geocoding) and the place-search flow both contact Apple's servers — a deliberate, scoped exception to the app's on-device stance, since Apple offers no on-device equivalent. Both run only after you grant when-in-use permission.

Photos and camera

• Photo picker: attaching an existing photo uses the system picker, which needs no photo-library permission — the app only receives the specific items you choose.
• Camera: one system camera permission covers attaching a photo and scanning a receipt. Receipt recognition runs on-device.
• Storage: attachments stay on your device unless you enable sync, as described above. Attachment files are excluded from the app's JSON backup export.

External AI

External-AI features are opt-in and off by default. Only data needed to process a request — such as text you submit and any selected context — leaves your device for the provider you choose. Wamū does not automatically transmit your financial data to an external AI service.

Feedback and diagnostics

Feedback is user-initiated only: you choose to send it by mail or the system share sheet, with an optional photo and optional counts-only diagnostic context (app and OS version, device model, currency code). Diagnostics never include transaction content or location, and nothing is persisted server-side — there is no server.

Your rights and controls

• Edit and delete in-app: you can edit or delete your entries at any time; affected totals update accordingly.
• Export: a native backup export is available in the app's More tab.
• Sync control: enabling or disabling private iCloud sync is per device, and disabling preserves your local data.
• Reset: Profile → Reset Data permanently deletes categories, transactions, and budgets on the device (currency preference is kept).
• Questions: contact us at the address below for anything this policy does not answer.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.